


Deadly Chase

by redcameleon



Category: Naruto
Genre: F/M, SSFF, SasuSaku - Freeform, ssfanfiction
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-06
Updated: 2020-09-06
Packaged: 2021-03-06 16:54:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,843
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26312224
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/redcameleon/pseuds/redcameleon
Summary: Western AU! Team 7 runs away from bandits but Sasuke got injured. Sakura does her best to make him warm.
Relationships: Haruno Sakura/Uchiha Sasuke
Kudos: 19
Collections: SSMonth 2014





	Deadly Chase

**Author's Note:**

> Old submission for SSMonth 2014 Day 26.   
> Prompt: Staying Warm.

“Argh those bandits just don’t know when to give up!” Sakura protests as she rides behind Sasuke on their horse. On their right is Naruto who is also busy maneuvering his horse while Kakashi is trailing behind them.

They are lucky they can escape from Konoha in the nick of time. The Akatsuki had come to the town late at night without any warning to look for the Kyuubi gem, a rare gem that is only possessed by Konoha. But with the Akatsuki’s trashing the whole city, they are forced to take it away and find a safer place to hide.

They managed to get on their horses without harm, except for Sasuke. One of the bandits shot him in the abdomen just as he got on the horse.

Sasuke’s breathing is becoming more and more frantic, his face getting paler as blood seeps through his creamy shirt. Sakura’s arms are wrapped around his chest as she clings on to him. When she feels blood on her hands, she panics.

“Sasuke-kun! You’re bleeding!”

“I’m fine. I can still go on. We need to get away from them as far as possible.” They can still hear the horses’ hoofs clicking and clacking on the ground. Passing the cold empty dessert, they decide to take a riskier route through a cliff side. It is their only chance to lose those bandits. It is risky, very, since their visibility is not at their best due to the darkness, but they are taking their chances anyway.

The cliff side is wide enough for their horses to pass through in a single file. Fearless is only one word to describe them.

Sasuke, being the lead, increases his horse’s pace, which Naruto and Kakashi soon follow. They can finally put a reasonable distance between them and the bandits. But just when they think they’re okay, a rumbling noise arouses.

They look up and see huge rocks tumbling down, rocks big enough to knock them down the cliff plunging into the river below. When some rocks fall on the path in front of Sasuke’s horse, the horse panics and raises its forelegs. Sasuke desperately tries to steady the horse. Sakura grabs the top of the saddle, trying to steady herself from falling.

Sasuke’s attention is too preoccupied that he does not realize when a rock hits him on the head, knocking him unconscious. He tumbles from the horse and hits the ground with a loud thud before rolling to the edge of the cliff and falling to the fast streaming river.

“Sasuke!” Sakura shouts at the top of her lungs but she is too slow to save him. Behind her, Naruto and Kakashi witness the whole scene and panics when he sees his body fall.

“Sakura, we need to move on!” Kakashi, being the only one who still has common senses, orders her to take the lead before they are crushed by the tumbling rocks as they keep tumbling down. She has to put their priorities straight, so she takes the leash and urges her horse to run. They all follow the path ahead and manage to escape their deaths. There are enough rocks to have created a blockage behind them, preventing the bandits from following any further.

But their problem does not end there. Sasuke’s life is at stake, but do they pursue him and try to rescue him from the watery depths, or should they just assume he’s done for and proceed with the mission? When they are sure they are not being followed anymore, without hesitating, they quickly change course and head to the river downwards.

The strong current is undeniably dangerous. It will be a miracle if Sasuke is still alive. Sakura can hear her heartbeat as worry washes over her. She cannot imagine the thought of losing him. She feels her blood being drained from her body just from the thought. Her hands shake as they scour the area. They follow the direction of the current until they reach a point where the current is not so strong. They slow down their paces and scan the area, yelling his name, hoping he’d somehow respond.

Worry is starting to pile when they have been searching for at least fifteen minutes, so they decide to split up to cover more grounds. The river divides itself into a few smaller streams; Sakura takes the most right, Naruto takes the one in the middle and Kakashi the most left. Agreeing to meet back here after an hour, they each go their separate paths.

Sakura is tireless and restless. She quickly scans the surface of the river in hopes to see something floating. Nobody knows how lucky she will be, but the moment she sees something floating, she quickly jumps off the horse and runs towards it. It looks big enough to be a human and just thinking that it is Sasuke makes her heart beat even faster.

The object has come to a halt by the side of the river and when she comes closer, she is sure that that “object” is an unconscious Uchiha Sasuke.

“Sasuke-kun!” She manages to get to him, pulling him to the dry ground before turning him on his back. His face is pale and his lips are starting to turn blue due to the extreme water temperature. The blood on his shirt still lingers although most of it has been washed away. If he were to stay in the water longer, he would have lost more blood.

Being a skillful medic she is, she quickly administers CPR on him, pumping his chest with her own two hands.

Soon enough, Sasuke starts coughing up water and regains consciousness.

“Sasuke-kun!” His eyes flutter open but he has trouble forming words. His lips feel numb and his limbs feel like they are already giving up. His whole body shakes and shivers from the cold.

“S-S-Sa-kur-r-ra.” He can’t hold his shivers anymore. Now she only needs to warm him up.

They need to find some shelter soon or they will freeze to death from the breezing wind. She helps him up and puts his hand around her shoulder before walking to a nearby cave adjacent to the river. It is just big enough to fit them both.

She carefully helps him lean against the wall and runs outside to get the horse. It doesn’t fit in the cave but it can block the entrance to prevent the wind from entering.

More blood is seeping through his wound, staining his wet shirt. The moment she notices it, she takes her medical pack and readies herself to perform a small surgery to take the bullet out from him.

“I need you to hold the pain.” She instructs him before taking of his shirt, ripping some of it, and crumpling it while managing to squeeze some water out of it.

“Here, bite this.” She secures the cloth in his mouth and asks if he’s ready. With a simple nod from his still shivering head, her fingers dive into his wound to take out the metal bullet. He closes his eyes shut at the intense pain and bites the cloth as hard as he can, screaming into it.

The moment the bullet is out, she cleans the wound and dabs some ointment on it. Sasuke feels excruciating pain shoot from his abdomen, forcing him to close his eyes and bite the cloth harder to muffle a groan.

She works as quickly as possible, knowing that Sasuke is still suffering from the intense temperature and the fact that he has lost a lot of blood makes it even deadlier. She notices how his eyes are slowly getting heavier and starting to drift but she needs him to stay awake. Who knows what will happen if he falls asleep.

“Stay with me Sasuke-kun, stay with me.” With brows knitting together in focus and hands moving swiftly to wrap his wound in bandages, she is more determined than ever to safe him. He pays attention to how she works and at the worry written all over her face. Relief washes over him knowing that he’s in capable hands.

He feels himself relax under her touch and when the pain slowly disappears from his abdomen, another problem resurfaces. His head feels like it’s being crushed by a million bricks as he feels blood trailing down on his forehead, along his temple and down his cheek before dripping to the ground.

Sakura is too engrossed in dressing his abdomen that she has not realized it, yet. Sasuke closes his eyes to make the pain go away but it does not. He can feel it pulsating, pounding him, torturing him.

The moment she turns her focus away from the wound on his abdomen to see his face, she is horrified by the blood trailing down the side of his head. She has forgotten that Sasuke was struck by a rock on his head. His eyes are beginning to close again.

“Oh no, oh no, oh no.” Her mind screams in panic. Unable to control her demeanor, she lets a few drops of tears to escape.

She inspects the wound on his head and dabs the surface with some more water to clean it. She is glad it is not a major wound. She applies some more ointment before wraping more bandages around his head and damp hair and securing it in place.

She can finally relax a little knowing that his life is not in danger anymore. But it doesn’t mean they are okay. Sasuke is still freezing to death, his hands are still shivering and his teeth chattering. Steeling her spirit, she takes a blanket from her sack and wraps it around Sasuke before darting outside to gather some firewood nearby. In a matter of minutes, she comes back and starts a fire.

“Sasuke-kun I need you to take off your clothes or you’ll freeze to death.” He knows not to question his trustworthy comrade and quickly obliges while she turns around to start a fire.

Thankful for her fire making skills, she lets the warmth surround the cave. She turns back to Sasuke to position the rather large blanket to cover his entire body and spreads his clothing near the fire to dry. Soon, the warmth starts to ease him and his shivering body. He feels the warmth encase him, melting away the ice in his veins. She settles down beside him, wrapping her petite hands around his larger ones, and leans on his shoulder. His head instinctively leans on hers comfortably. Sasuke can still feel his stiff cold fingers melt under her touch. He closes his eyes, reveling in the sensation. The cave becomes silent, the only sound that can be heard is the crackling noise of the fire.

“Sakura.”

“Shh. Don’t talk, you need to conserve your energy.” She rubs her thumb on the back of his palm.

“Thank you.” There is a moment of silence. She lets herself scoot closer to him, donating some of her body heat to him.

“You’re welcome.”


End file.
